Persimmon PLC on Wednesday said trading in its third quarter remained in line with full-year expectations, as its net private sales rate grew.

The York, England-based housebuilder said it delivered a net private sales rate per outlet per week of 0.70 for the period between July 1 and November 3, which was up 37% from 0.51 a year before. Excluding bulk sales, the net private sales rate per outlet was up 30% to 0.61 from 0.47.

Persimmon’s forward sales position increased 17% to £2.02 billion from £1.73 billion in 2023. Within this, the private forward sales position rose 39% to £1.45 billion from £1.04 billion.

The company delivered 1,416 homes during the quarter, down 1.6% from 1,439 homes last year. Private homes built increased 2.7% to 1,267 from 1,234.

‘Customer interest remains good across all regions, and our marketing campaigns continue to generate healthy online traffic and visitors to our sites,’ Persimmon said. ‘Affordability constraints, particularly for first-time buyers, have been helped by the initial reductions in interest rates and a greater availability of over 90% loan-to-value mortgage products on the market than a year ago.’

The company said it was ‘well-positioned’ for continued market improvement, and remains optimistic about its growth prospects, despite the timing of future interest rate changes being uncertain.

Chief Executive Officer Dean Finch said: ‘Positive momentum in the business continued over the summer months and we remain on track to deliver growth in completions to around 10,500 for the full year. Visitor numbers and enquiries remain strong and sales rates continue to be well ahead of the prior year. Our forward order book is up 17% on the prior year with the private average selling price robust. We continue to position the business for success, maintaining our focus on quality and customer service, and converting our land holdings into active developments.’

Peel Hunt forecasts for Persimmon full-year revenue of £2.9 million and pretax profit of £352.8 million. This would represent a 3.6% growth in revenue from £2.8 million last year, and a 0.3% rise in pretax profit from £351.8 million.

Shares in Persimmon were down 5.3% at 1,393.50 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.

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